Serene desert landscapes and a treasure trove of pyramid tombs still being discovered; this was Egypt a century ago, as a selection of fascinating vintage pH๏τos show.
A gallery of black and white snaps selected by DailyMail.com reveal what the ancient country looked like before tourism had taken hold.
It’s predicted that more than 13 million visitors descended on Egypt this year, but 100 years ago the 5,000-year-old civilization was still being discovered by westerners, who were floored by the wonders they found.
One image shows a hoard of antiquities in Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb, following its discovery in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, while another shows the Great Sphinx of Giza encased in wooden scaffolding as workers go about excavating it in 1931.
Meanwhile, the Cairo skyline in 1920 looks a world away from today’s scene, with minarets and no skyscrapers in sight.
Scroll down for a trip back in time to Egypt’s golden age, from the rooftops of Cairo to the railway in Alexandria and a spread of sacred spots inbetween.
A pH๏τo showing explorer Major Chaplin Court Treatt drawing a map in the sand, showing the route from Halfa to Shellal in 1926. Court Treatt and his wife, Stella, completed the first successful journey by motor vehicle from Cape Town to Cairo. The two-year trip was documented in their book, Cape To Cairo
Two women smile for the camera as the embark on a tour of the Giza pyramids by camel in 1920. There doesn’t appear to any other tourists around, as they traverse the dusty routes
People go about their everyday business in the streets of Alexandria in this pH๏τo taken circa 1920. Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, the city features a mix of architectural styles, from Greek to Egyptian to neoclassical (as seen above)
This candid sH๏τ shows traditional wooden boats docked at the port in Alexandria circa 1900. The port is now deemed one of the most important and largest in the Middle East and Africa
Lord Carnarvon is seen leading a party invited to the unofficial opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb. A keen Egyptologist, Carnarvon was archaeologist Howard Carter’s financial backer in his excavations in the Valley of the Kings. The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 was heralded as one of the most astounding discoveries in archaeology
A western tourist poses by his car at the temple of Pharaoh Rameses III in Karnak, Egypt, circa 1925. Nowadays, no tourist vehicles would be allowed to get so close to the ancient structures
A sH๏τ of the now demolished railway station in Alexandria, Egypt, circa 1920. The station, which was built in 1876, was the first to be built in Egypt but it was replaced by a modern station in the 1970s
A tourist braves the heat in a white ensemble and heels while sitting atop a camel attended to by a local. The vacation pH๏τo was taken circa 1920, just as tourism started to flourish
While nowadays it’s forbidden for tourists to clamber up Egypt’s pyramids to take a snap, back in the early 20th century it was all the rage. In this sH๏τ, two women dressed in heels and dresses look across the Sahara Desert from the top of the Great Pyramid of Khufu at sunset
A worshipper is caught mid-prayer inside the beautiful decorated colonnade of the Amr ibn al-As Mosque in Cairo
A view of the antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb following its discovery in 1922, with a range of treasures on display
The Cairo skyline in 1920 looks a world away from today’s scene, with a spread of minarets and no skyscrapers in sight
Tourists dressed in their finest attire make their way through date palm groves to the desert in this atmospheric sH๏τ taken in Sakkara in March 1921. March is deemed one of the more comfortable months to visit Egypt, with the average high ranging from about 68F to 81F
A western tourist waits outside a mosque as an attendant ties slippers to her shoes so she doesn’t need to take them off. Today tourists traditionally remove their shoes when entering a mosque instead of wearing overshoes
On November 4, 1922, Howard Carter’s group of archeologists found steps leading to Tutankhamun’s tomb and they spent several months cataloguing the antechamber before opening the burial chamber and finally discovering the sarcophagus. Pictured, some of the items found in the antechamber
Work is carried out to excavate sand from around the body of the Great Sphinx of Giza in 1925. The project resulted in the statue being fully exposed for the first time since Giza was abandoned during the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1782 BCE)
The Great Sphinx is thought by most Egyptologists to represent the likeness of King Khafra. Others also believe that Djadefre, the elder brother of Khafra, built the Sphinx to honor his father, Khufu
A group of tourists set off on a camel tour of Giza, with a horse and cab also in tow. The head of the Great Sphinx can be seen in the background on the right
A local boy carts agricultural produce through the city Alexandria in 1930, while an attendant stands on a platform to help control the steady flow of traffic. Today the scene is a little more hectic, as Alexandria’s population is more than five million compared to about 320,000 at the turn of the 20th century
